The GPSR (the General Product Safety Regulation) requires companies placing products on the EU market to know risks, have documentation in order, and understand who fulfills which role in the supply chain. Part of this you can manage yourself with some research, such as inventorying your product range and determining who in your chain qualifies as manufacturer, importer, or distributor. Other elements, such as a comprehensive risk assessment of a technically complex product, more often require specialized knowledge or an external party.
Whether you can manage it yourself therefore does not depend on your company size but on the type of product and the complexity of the risks involved. An office manager who only purchases standard office equipment has a different starting point than an importer who has electronics produced under their own brand name. In both cases, the regulation itself, not an adviser, determines what must happen — engaging help does not change those obligations, it only changes who performs the work.
What typically lies within reach of your own team
A number of steps can be done by most companies with some time invested. Think of drawing up an overview of all products you place on the market, recording the name and contact address that must appear on or with the product, and checking whether instructions and safety information are already available in Dutch. Maintaining an internal register of complaints and incidents is also administrative work that an office manager or quality officer can often organize themselves, provided there are clear agreements on who maintains that register and for how long.
The regulation also distinguishes roles in the chain, and determining your own role is usually something you can do yourself. If you are the party placing the product on the market under your own name, different obligations apply than when you only distribute. That distinction can usually be answered with a few questions, and those needing initial guidance can see in a few questions which role is likely to apply.
Where help is more customary
For a genuine risk assessment of a product — particularly with electronics where electrical, thermal, or chemical risks converge — companies more often engage a testing institute, certification body, or specialized adviser. This is not because the law mandatorily requires it for every product, but because a proper assessment requires technical knowledge that not every company possesses. The same applies to drawing up a technical file that will withstand an inspection: the format is often known, but the content requires knowledge of the specific standards applicable to your product category.
Also when in doubt about the precise scope of the regulation for a specific product, or with questions about liability between manufacturer and importer, it is customary to consult a lawyer. The regulation itself provides the framework, but translating it to your specific situation — which product, which supply chain, which member state — is not something an article on the internet can fill in for you. For questions about supervision and the way an inspection proceeds in the Netherlands, the supervisory authority itself is the appropriate contact point.
The role of documentation in that consideration
A large part of the discussion about doing it yourself or outsourcing comes down in practice to documentation: who draws it up, who checks it, and who keeps it current if something changes in the product or the regulations. For companies working with multiple product lines, it is worthwhile to first map out which documents already exist and which are still missing, before making the choice between drawing up or outsourcing. An overview of which documents are typically needed, ordered by subject, can be found in the knowledge base with explanations for each situation.
That overview also touches on the digital product passport, for which structured product information is likewise required. Companies that are already busy getting their GPSR documentation in order often thereby lay a foundation that will come in handy later with the passport. How these two relate to each other, and where exactly the data comes from that ends up on elektropas.com, is explained on the page where the information comes from.
In short
Whether you handle the GPSR yourself or call in help is not a fixed answer but an assessment per product and per company. Basic work such as documenting your role, contact details and complaint registration is something most companies can do themselves. For technical risk assessments, a conclusive technical file or legal doubt about your specific situation, it is more common to involve an expert or lawyer; for questions about enforcement, the supervisory authority is the appropriate contact.
Would you like an indication of where your company stands before you make that choice? Do the free quick-scan or browse through the topics in the knowledge bank, and check the frequently asked questions about the product passport for a first orientation.